so people see her new things, and say how pretty she
looks," answered Kat, who was not uneasy.

So they eat supper and waited; but no appearance of the delinquent. The
twins began to clear up, putting a good supply in the oven to keep warm;
but the dishes were through with, and all put away, and no Ernestine.
Kittie began to feel anxious and worried, but Kat made fun of her,
though she herself began to grow more quiet, as the evening went on.
Eight. Nine. No Ernestine. What should they do?

Bea sprang up from her seat at the window, all in a pale tremor.

"I cannot stand it. Oh, Olive, what shall we do?"

"Why, I don't know," said Olive, putting down the book in which she had
read nothing. "Have you looked for her hat and cloak?"

No. No one had. So they all rushed up stairs, as though it required five
pairs of eyes to discover a hat and cloak, which was found lying on the
bed, just as she had thrown them on coming up stairs. Bea went to her
boxes, with a vague idea that the gloves and feather were in some way
connected with the mystery; but they were put away with greatest
possible care, and Kat, who always did the absurd things in hasty
moments, reported that all her clothes and dresses were in their places,
so she couldn't have gone away.

"Of course not; there's no place for her to go to," answered Olive.

"Mrs. Dane's, perhaps," suggested Kittie.

This was plausible.

"But what would she go for?" asked Bea in a moment. "And without any hat
or shawl, and stay so late?"

Nobody knew, and all looked irresolute and anxious.

"Her blue shawl is gone," exclaimed Kat, in the midst of her second
rummage in the closet; for what, no one knew, since it was impossible
for Ernestine to be hanging over a hook; or settled in one of her
pockets. "And her straw hat!"

At that, all five dived into the closet, with no clearly defined
purpose, but it seemed the only thing to do just then; and in the
scramble that followed, the missing straw hat was found on the floor,
but no blue shawl kept its company. They all took hold of it in turn,
looking at it solemnly, and turning it over and over, as though it
possessed the secret of its missing mistress. But if it knew, it kept
its knowledge, and only flapped its ribbons in feeble protest at being
twisted about so. No one said any thing, until Bea discovered two long
golden hairs clinging to the straw, then she threw it down, and burst
into tears. Everybody looked aghast, and